Kuril islands: Russia's eastern frontier

They lie between the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 of them with a total land area of about 15,600 square kilometers and a population of 19,000. Along with millions of seabirds, crabs and fish, the Ainu people were early inhabitants on these islands. Yet a long-running dispute over these territories still continues. They are the Kuril Islands – Russia’s eastern frontier!